subject: Guess What's Newt Longer in Production [print this page] Guess What's Newt Longer in Production Guess What's Newt Longer in Production
Pixar Animation Studios, the highly acclaimed animation company announced earlier this year that they have pulled the plug on their anticipated would-be fourteenth film, Newt. This CGI (computer generated imaging) feature was about two blue footed newts the last of their kind forced together by scientists to save their species. But for the first time in Pixar history, a concept which could not have been that far off from completion (it was due for a 2011 release later moved back to 2012) was trashed. So what's next for the world's leading animation studio? To the delight of many, Pixar will be releasing a fairytale about a warrior princess in 2012, but to the dismay of others, two, er, sequels have secured release dates for 2011 and 2012.
To many, the word sequel today doesn't stir up the excitement it once did. Now more demanding audiences become increasingly skeptical when the word sequel begins to buzz about. So with the announcement of two sequels under way, many Pixar loyalists are wondering if Pixar's perfect streak is about to come to an end. Lest skeptics begin criticizing, I think it would be appropriate to speculate the company's future by comparing it to its history.
After a rough start as a small computer graphics company, Walt Disney Studios partnered with Pixar, thus Pixar released the most innovative animated feature film of its time in 1995. The world was awe-struck not just by the new CGI technology, but by the amusing story and the promising imagination that poured out from the small Pixar studio. Toy Story would be the first of an expanding line of consecutively successful animated feature films. Even as competitors rose up around them and threatened to steal the coveted animation film spotlight, Pixar always managed to come out on top. With triumphant successes such as Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and The Incredibles, Pixar has managed to keep the longest running consistent streak of successful films in Hollywood memory. And let us not forget one of the most pleasant surprises in the company's early history, Toy Story 2, a sequel that took home the Golden Globe best picture award for best musical or comedy the only animated film to be bestowed such an honor.
As of recent years, Pixar has prided itself for stepping even further out of the general comfort zone most animated films cling to. Skepticism hung in the air when Pixar released their first trailers about their upcoming children's movie, whose very title was difficult to pronounce (Ratatouille), that featured a rat who found his calling cooking in a high class restaurant in Paris. Then they announced a project that was a love story about two robots. And if those weren't completely out of the box, in 2009 they put out a children's movie about an infertile widower who found adventure in a flying house. Each of these risky concepts have delighted audiences and now have secured their place in movie history. And let's not forget the most recent success that Pixar entrusted its torch to last summer's Toy Story 3, which moved audiences of every age to complete awe. Toy Story 3, Pixar's second sequel now holds the record for the highest ranking animated movie in the world-wide box office. Even to passive observers, it is quite clear that Pixar Studios has made quite an impression on the big screen during the last decade and a half.
So why, then, after so many successes, earning some room for failure, would Pixar Studios abruptly pull the plug on a movie who's highly developed concept art looks just as dazzling and beautiful as sketches from their previous movies? Surely even if Newt didn't live up to its predecessors, it would still rake in the desired earnings in the opening weekend alone, considering it has everything going for it with the Disney/Pixar label attached to it.
Sources reveal little more than that there were simply "story complications." But this is a loaded statement. Did executives not agree on artistic avenues the movie makers wanted to take? Was it just not possible to meet the required deadlines? Or was it because of two upcoming films from rival animation companies that share the same plot concept? Or did the subject matter not compliment Pixar's stubbornness to produce wholesome, family-valued films? One would have to admit that it would be a challenge to make a film about two animals forced to mate for the sole purpose of conception and not fall into the trap of making predictably crude jokes aimed for the adult audiences a popular trap that Pixar has almost always managed to steer clear of.
Either way, it is to Pixar's credit that they're abandoning a semi-promising concept. Whatever the case may have been, it's clear that Pixar still refuses to fail. From the beginning their motto has been that story comes first. If they're still sticking with the principals that helped elevate their films into the hearts of millions, then loyalists can rest assured that their upcoming sequels will take no shortcuts on the road up to our very high expectations.
